OFF TOPIC? - Health benefits of Guggul - interesting and informative

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

Sai Ram. I am glad to share with you an article which I received in

another group, Sanskritpole and my thanks to the friend Shri Shripad

Deshmukh, who posted it there.

 

September 30 is World Heart Day (in India) and is also celebrated as

Pain Awareness month in USA. Best wishes to all on this occasion.

 

Swamy

 

--

 

Lower Cholesterol And Boost Liver Function With The Ayurvedic Herb Guggul

 

Written by EditorsChoice

Friday, 28 September 2007

 

Guggul is gum resin that can be used to lower cholesterol and boost

your liver function, though it has been used for thousands of years in

India to treat a number of diseases and conditions. However, its mode

of action is completely different to that of most other cholesterol

lowering agents.

 

The active ingredient is known as guggulsterone, which is a plant

sterol that increases the amount of body cholesterol into bile acids

by the liver. Bile acids are an essential part of our digestion

system, working to emulsify the oils and fats we eat and covert them

into a form suitable for transferring to the blood and use elsewhere

in the body. They also help the body make use of fat soluble vitamins

such as vitamins A and E.

 

The resin used in this Ayurvedic remedy comes from the stem of a tree

called Mukul myrrh that grows throughout India. Ayurvedic medicine is

said to have originated from ancient Hindu texts, but is now thought

to have evolved over thousands of years. The basis of the medicine is

contained in two Sanskrit texts written on palm leaves and form the

basis of modern Ayurvedic training. Guggul has been used for millennia

in the treatment of skin conditions, rheumatism, arthritis, cardio-

vascular problems and high cholesterol.

 

Being an oily fat, cholesterol is not soluble in blood plasma and

hence cannot be carried around the body without a carrier. These

carriers are known as low density lipoproteins and high density

lipoproteins.

 

The LDL carries cholesterol to where it is needed by the body, and is

a sticky substance that can also deposit cholesterol in the arteries

that are carrying it. This can form a hard coating on the inside of

the arteries called plaque, and effectively narrow them and harden

them up.

 

This atherosclerosis, as it is called, is a dangerous condition, and

if a blood clot encounters the narrow part of an artery so affected it

can be blocked. If in the heart, then this can cause a heart attack,

and if in the brain it can give rise to a stroke, both potentially

fatal conditions.

 

HDL, on the other hand, carries excess cholesterol back to the liver

for destruction or conversion to bile, and is a free flowing liquid

material known as 'good cholesterol'. Cholesterol is needed by the

body and so cannot be eliminated completely. That would be even more

dangerous. One of the major functions of cholesterol in the liver is

in the production of bile that is used by your digestive process to

emulsify fats. Any compound that could also carry out this vital

function would mean that liver would have less cholesterol to manufacture.

 

Your body receives a dietary supply of cholesterol from fatty animal

sources such as meat, fats, eggs and dairy products such as cheese and

butter. There is no cholesterol in purely vegetable foods. However,

that does not mean that vegans have no cholesterol, since as stated

earlier, it is an essential substance in the body's metabolism. In

fact, the liver is able to generate all the cholesterol you need, and

that which is taken in your diet is superfluous.

 

The liver can manufacture cholesterol from the trans and saturated

fats in your diet, and there are several sources of these. Included

among them are popcorn, vegetable shortening such as found in cookies

and donuts and other manufactured bakery products made from

hydrogenated margarines and oils widely used in the bakery industry.

Also from rapeseed and palm oils and coconuts. Saturated fats are also

contained in French fries and similar fried foods using certain

vegetable oils, and also potato chips. Even vegetarians and vegans can

suffer from high cholesterol levels.

 

Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver and taken up by LDL for

distribution by the blood. However, a large proportion of that

cholesterol is used by the liver to manufacture bile, essential for

digestion of fats. This bile is stored in the gall bladder, and

released into the upper intestine on the ingestion of fatty food. The

bile acids and fats pass down the intestine, where the fats are

emulsified into a form suitable for absorption by the body.

 

The bile acids are then absorbed in the final part of the ileum by

proteins that carry them back to the liver where they are recirculated

into the bile. Once the level of bile acids in the body reaches a

certain level, a chemical known as the Farnesoid X Receptor

(FXR) stops the liver from converting cholesterol into bile. Although

only 5% of the bile is excreted from the body and needs replaced, this

still accounts for 50% of the body's usage of cholesterol.

 

The production of bile from cholesterol operates on a closed loop

system, with a feedback that maintains a constant level of bile

acids. The feedback is controlled by FXR that detects the current

level of bile acids and represses the enzyme (CYP7A1) that stimulates

bile manufacture until a minimum level has been reached when the

CYP7A1 is re-activated.

 

By blocking the action of FXR, the guggulsterone in guggul continues

the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids by the liver without

interruption. The liver has to use more LDL cholesterol for this and

so reduces the overall amount of cholesterol in the body, specifically

the LDL type.

 

A double blind study in India showed a total cholesterol reduction of

11.7%, including a 12.7% reduction in LDL and a 12% reduction in blood

fat (triglyceride) levels, and other studies have indicated a total

cholesterol reduction of up to 27% and triglycerides of up to 30%. The

Indians believe guggul to be so effective that is has been approved as

a treatment for high cholesterol by the Indian government. The

connection with FXR has been confirmed by testing with mice with and

without FXR.

 

Another factor in high cholesterol levels is that an under-active

thyroid can interfere with the liver's ability to process cholesterol.

Guggul stimulates then production of thyroid hormones, and so can help

to reduce excessive LDL cholesterol in the blood cause through a low

level of thyroid hormone production.

 

Overall, then, this Ayurvedic remedy for many ills can help anyone who

needs to reduce the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in their

blood. Recommended dosages are about 1500 mg twice daily, though if

you are also taking statins or are under treatment for cancer you

should first consult your doctor, as you should with all natural

remedies that are new to you.

 

Article Source:

http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/lower-cholesterol-and-boost-liver-fu\

\

\

nction-with-the-ayurvedic-herb-guggul-222031.html

 

About the Author:

More information can be found at

http://vitanetonline.com/ where a large selection of

Ayurvedic remedies like guggul are available.